By Benjamin Joe
(Image above: Fans pack Mohawk Place for GOA release show last year. Photo by Kate Badgley.)

In the spring of 2024, three hosts of mosh pits, stage dives and other such activities associated with punk rockers and hardcore fans closed their doors to the scene, leaving the pool a little smaller and ultimately limiting the choices for a community of patrons who want more.

The venues were the Buffalo Hostel, Timeless Babez and Stamps … The Bar in the City of Tonawanda. Now, almost a year later, the closing of Mohawk Place in downtown Buffalo, a staple for touring and local hardcore acts alike, gives some reason to believe that Buffalo’s music scene may not have a place for the harder, more rocking shows that so many of its residents enjoy.

According to Shawn Gomez, proprietor of Timeless Babez, which still exists as a shop for records and other punk rock accessories, the banning of “moshing, crowd surfing and stage diving” by venues isn’t going to have the desired effect. He said that part of the scene is knowing what’s appropriate.

“We stopped doing shows in March 2024. We hosted a number of hardcore shows and had a fun time doing it. We did not have any issues and some of the shows did have your typical hardcore dancing. I feel these local promoted shows tend to govern themselves and it’s better than a big place with security in place,” he said.

One of the bands affected by the closures is On The Cinder, a band from the house punk scene that was popular in the University Heights district by the south campus of the University at Buffalo.

Mike Jacobs, bassist of the group, said that while there are plenty of people who want to go to a hardcore show, getting the venue can be “tricky.” Jacobs and the rest of On The Cinder started as three roommates who formed into a band and kept up a history of house shows at the Flower House.

“We’re definitely in a dip, I think, with punk rock and hardcore,” he said. “They’re very community-oriented genres. … (For) many of the bands under the hardcore label — or punk rock-oriented — bills are being built to get people out and that helps to build a community and the scene. The scene is really strong in Buffalo, though having the venue has been the tricky part lately with all these closings.”

However, there’s hope on the horizon. 

Upon being asked on the status of the Buffalo Niagara Hostel, Katherine Pesecow, board president, said that with the change of administration from former mayor Byron Brown to acting mayor Chris Scanlon, there’s hope that the former venue will open by June of 2025.

“Once the emergency repairs are done, there’s no reason that the keys can’t be handed over to a developer and the front can be opened, while the back can continue to be developed,” she said. 

The hostel was shut down in April of 2024 because of structural issues to the building behind and connected to the hostel on Washington Street. Since the closure, Pessecow and others have been gathering support from the local community to open.

Pessecow said that a place like the hostel is necessary, now more than ever, making reference to the closures of not only hardcore venues, but also the Old Pink and Mulligan’s Brick Bar on Allen Street, both of which burned.

“Buffalo’s gone through a tremendous loss, whether it’s from fires or foreclosures. There’s just so many reasons why there’s a need for space because, honestly, where are people supposed to go?” she said.

Meanwhile, another development in University Heights may provide good news. There were fears with the closure of Amy’s Place, also known as Area 54, but any rumors have proven to be bunk.

Jesse Schmidbauer, long time resident of University Heights and co-owner of Caffe Aroma with his wife Michaela, is taking over Amy’s Place, under the name of Caffe @ Amy’s. He said that unless there was something catastrophic, there was no way that he would be shutting down the space that has attracted bands from all around the world.

“Our intention is to keep music rolling here,” he said. “The punk and hardcore has been around University Heights since I was a kid and before, probably, so I have no intention of excluding any of that.

“I grew up in this neighborhood. I’ve been coming here since I was a teenager, so it is cool that I can be a part of it,” he said. “There’s a lot of expectations and misinformation on the internet. We’re going to have events one way or another.”

Whatever happens, Jacobs also said that the scene and the music will survive.

“Scenes evolve and there’s lots of migrations that happen,” he said. “I’ve had this band for 11-years, I played in a couple bands before that, and people go from clubs, to house shows, to community spaces, back to house shows, back to venues, back to bars. Things will happen, things will evolve. Especially with Buffalo’s hardcore scenes. There’s so many young bands that are thirsty to play.”

Benjamin Joe writes about music and the arts – particularly hardcore punk – for The Buffalo Hive.